CALIFORNIA
2016
In 2016 I was able to travel to Spirit Rock Meditation Center to witness my Buddhist teacher graduate her training program.
She was no ordinary teacher. She visited a prison each Sunday to teach a handful of prisoners how to meditate. I was lucky enough to be one of them!
Buddhism became the focal point for the remainder of my incarceration. I would often spent 2-3 hours a day in formal meditation. Sometimes I would wake up before everyone else in my dorm to meditate. Eventually I became friends with the Catholic Deacon who let me mediate in his chapel for 2-3 hours in the afternoon.
This was the catalyst for my personal transformation. She taught us how to cultivate mindfulness, self-love, and the power of simply showing up for life.
On the same 2016 trip to California, I was able to click up with friends. I visited the city, mountains and redwood forests.
The Redwoods were glorious. Some reach over 5,000 years old. I could almost imagine dinosaurs walking between them. The clubs and drag shows were some of the best I’d seen. The costumes, foot work, and lip synching were on point.
2017
In 2017 I was able to travel to San Fransisco and Fresno with one of my best friends. We skimmed the Castro and dined at the Delancey Street Restaurant which employs and houses formerly incarcerated people. We finished our time in Fresno to see the incredible state parks and the bread basket of the U.S, where 1/3 of our food is grown.
